


Batman vs Bruce Wayne: Socioeconomic Changes

by nival_kenival



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Friend was like "Hey bet there's no fanfic written in APA citation", Gen, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, so I looked and couldn't find any, so here we have it, so then I was like OwO lets write it from midnight through 4am, there is link to google drive because A03 breaks my formatting so bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21657778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nival_kenival/pseuds/nival_kenival
Summary: AbstractGotham has two main prominent figures in the modern age. The millionaire playboy turned family man, Bruce Wayne; and the ever-elusive “only works alone” Batman. The question becomes, which of these two men has had more of a positive effect on Gotham.i.e. Tim wanted help with a school project but Bruce was like I wanna be Batman rn
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30





	Batman vs Bruce Wayne: Socioeconomic Changes

**Author's Note:**

> link to PDF here, it also has the figures because of AO3 being a butt about getting them in, also linked at bottom of references:  
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-2zNeXHBxucAJQ46Eu17D3bwRxXFKjk5/view?usp=sharing 
> 
> Beta'd by Grammerly (like how uni students are supposed to)

Batman vs Bruce Wayne:

Socioeconomic Changes 

Tim Drake

Gotham State University

  
  


  
  


Abstract

Gotham has two main prominent figures in the modern age. The millionaire playboy turned family man, Bruce Wayne; and the ever-elusive “only works alone” Batman. The question becomes, which of these two men has had more of a positive effect on Gotham.

Batman vs Bruce Wayne:

Socioeconomic Changes 

Amongst scholars who focus on the importance of social culture and economy changes, the city of Gotham is an outlier. Gotham, New Jersey, is a large city known for its gothic architecture, world-famous philanthropist, and it’s nightlife. This paper will be focusing on the two most prominent figures listed above, Bruce Wayne, and Batman. These two men have undeniably altered Gotham’s culture and economy, but who has more clout? This paper will attempt to put into perspective the actions of these two citizens, to see which one has improved Gotham.

Bruce Wayne is a philanthropist who was born and raised in Gotham City, he was part of a murder investigation when his parents were shot during a mugging when he was eight years old. Bruce Wayne has contributed much to the city, including free health clinics, scholarships, and large donations to “charities dedicated to helping Gotham’s less fortunate” (Vale, 2011). While it is highly debated amongst prominent media figures, such as Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, whether the donations are due to him trying to make Gotham a better place or to quote Luthor “to give enough away so that he can mark it off on his taxes” (Lane, 2013). Even if the beloved millionaire were only donating to get some tax rebate, the infrastructure and the positive effects it has produced cannot be ignored, see Figure 1. Other psychology scholars, such as Quinzel (2005), note that people who have experienced trauma, especially early in their lives, are more likely to give back to the society they were raised in. As noted with Bruce Wayne’s back story, this is more likely to be the case, especially when one considers the less fortunate children he has taken into his family to help raise. With his wards, Richard (Dick) Grayson, and Timothy Drake, his full adoptees such as Jason Todd (rest in peace), and Cassandra Cain, as well as his recently found blood son Damien Wayne, he is well known for having a large and caring heart when it comes to children who also have experienced some level of trauma. Wayne’s heart and open affections he shares with his kids is obvious and clear on his social media pages, as well as his children's’. Vale (2015) notes that the family’s antics are well known and loved, as seen through the number of likes and followers they have, and the general population’s joy increases after new pictures are shared from any of the Wayne family accounts. With the evidence shown above, it is clear that Bruce Wayne has helped Gotham both economically and socially, so the question becomes, what has Batman done?

( _Figure 1)_

Batman is a well-known vigilante that prowls Gotham’s streets during the night, beating up self-proclaimed villains and the mentally ill. While the mentally ill are, arguably, causing more harm to the public, there were less villains and “less city-wide destruction before the dark knight’s debut” (Vale, 2010). Admittedly, according to the GCPD (Gotham City Police Department) spokesperson P. Grogan in his press release (Vale, 2012), the drug and smuggling trades have decreased since Batman and his flock of flying vigilantes became involved in the inner workings of Gotham’s illegal trades, see Figure 2. However, with Batman’s strict no-kill policy, and the lack of proper psychological care provided at Arkham Asylum, where he keeps dropping the mentally ill off, it could be argued that his actions are more detrimental to the economy and have broader negative social implications, than positive. Unlike Bruce Wayne, whose Wayne Enterprise creates and gives out free antidotes to the concoctions that the mentally ill invent, shortly after the first victims have surfaced. Batman, while well known for his ideals of “working alone” (Gordan, 2010), he has been noted to work with over half-a-dozen other vigilantes. The list of vigilantes includes at least 6 Robins, 3 Batgirls, NightWing, Batwoman, Red Robin, Black Bat, Spoiler, the Signal, and the Justice League. He has also worked with some villains, his relationships with Catwoman, and Red Hood, are very strained and anyone who has witnessed these interactions can attest, see (Vale, 2014). While most of Batman’s effects on the socioeconomic environment can be argued by theorists as being detrimental, he does create a lot of change.

_(Figure 2)_

Batman and Bruce Wayne are very different men with very different ways of affecting society. Bruce Wayne is in the more public good sectors, pouring his money into infrastructures to better the city, while Batman stalks the night, creating more problems for the general public. In the broad picture, Bruce Wayne has performed so much good for the city, that even Batman’s negative actions do not impede it. This proves that, even if Batman left the city, Gotham would still prosper as long as Bruce Wayne continues as he is.

References

Gordon, J. (2010). Jim’s Quote of the day. _Public Venue._ Gotham City

Lane, L. (2013). A Day in the Life of Lex Luthor. _Daily Planet._ Retrieved from [ https://www.thedailyplanet.com/ ](https://www.thedailyplanet.com/)

Quinzel, H. (2005). Trauma, the effects on the minds’ of children. _Psychology Daily, 32_ (16), 312-396. [ https://doi.org/10.9634/6715 ](https://doi.org/10.9634/6715)

Vale, V. (2010). Dark Knight incident reports over the years. _Gotham Gazette._ Retrieved from [ https://www.thegothamgazette.com/ ](https://www.thegothamgazette.com/)

Vale, V. (2011). Top 10 Wayne Foundation Donors. _Gotham Gazette._ Retrieved from [ https://www.thegothamgazette.com/ ](https://www.thegothamgazette.com/)

Vale, V. (2012). GCPD stance on Batman?. _Gotham Gazette._ Retrieved from [ https://www.thegothamgazette.com/ ](https://www.thegothamgazette.com/)

Vale, V. (2014). Batman trouble in paradise. _Gotham Gazette._ Retrieved from [ https://www.thegothamgazette.com/ ](https://www.thegothamgazette.com/)

[PDF Here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-2zNeXHBxucAJQ46Eu17D3bwRxXFKjk5/view?usp=sharing/)


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